Cabinet orders counter-terror measures

In 5-hour meeting, National Security Cabinet passes new measures to counter terrorist incitement.

Rachel Kaplan, 03/07/16 09:20

Defense Minister Liberman at the site of the attack

Dana Shraga/Flash90

Last night, the National Security Cabinet created a plan, based on the recommendations of Minister of Internal Security MK Gilad Erdan, to not return the bodies of fallen terrorists to their families. Instead, they will be buried in a specially designated cemetery, as yet to be established.

Erdan's recommendations focus on the celebrations that surround a terrorist's funeral, and are intended to send a strong warning that murderous attacks will have repercussions for the family of a terrorist as well.

In the nearly five-hour long meeting, which lasted into the early hours of the morning, the ministers also green-lighted a series of anti-terror recommendations from the security establishment, including a sweeping crackdown in the village of Bani Na'im, from which came the terrorist who murdered 13 year-old Hallel Yaffa Ariel.

The cabinet also ordered the cancellation of thousands of Palestinian work permits in Judea and Samaria, and are weighing cancelling thousands more.

Another plan being put into action includes the deduction of payments to terrorists' families - from the taxes that Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority monthly. The PA honors terrorists that have been imprisoned or killed by Israel, by granting a monthly stipend to their families.

To counter this ugly trend, the Prime Minister's office calculated the amount currently being paid out to these families, and will deduct that amount from the PA's tax monies forthwith, before handing them over.

Minister of Education Naftali Bennett interviewed this morning on Reshet Bet, claiming that the changes will make a decisive dent in the terror trend sweeping through Israel.

"Israel needs to take new action in order to deal with this new kind of terror. I cannot be that families of terrorists will celebrate and receive financial reparations from the Palestinian Authority," Bennett argued.